Ludwig Ruckdeschel (15 March 1907 – 8 November 1986) was the Acting

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' of

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

during the final month of the '' Gau's'' existence before the collapse of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1945. Before this, from 1933, he served as the Deputy Gauleiter, first to Hans Schemm, and then to Fritz Wächtler, whom he had executed on orders by

Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...

. From 1933 to 1945 he was also a member of the German Parliament, the '' Reichstag''. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Ruckdeschel served in the Waffen-SS, rising to the rank of '' Obersturmbannführer''. After the war he was arrested in 1947 and sentenced to 13 years in prison but released in 1952.

Biography

Ruckdeschel was born in

, then part of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

within the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1907. After finishing his education he became a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

. Ruckdeschel joined a nationalist youth organisation in 1921 and the SA in 1923. He was a founding member of the ''Ortsgruppe'' (local branch) of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in Bayreuth in February 1925 and became a close protégé of ''

Ortsgruppenleiter ''Ortsgruppenleiter'' (Local Group Leader) was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed between 1930 and 1945. The term first came into being during the German elections of 1930, and was held by the head Nazi of a town or city, or in ...

'' Hans Schemm. He served as the ''Ortsgruppe'' secretary 1926 - 1927. From 1928 onward he became a permanent employee of the Gau administration. In this role he was responsible for the publication of right-wing books and newspapers. In October 1928 he became the business manager, propaganda leader and treasurer of the Gau Lower Franconia (''Oberfranken'') under now ''Gauleiter'' Schemm. He served as Schemm's permanent deputy, and in September 1932 was formally named Deputy ''Gauleiter''. On 1 February 1933 Ruckdeschel became Deputy Gauleiter of the newly formed Gau Bavarian East March (''Bayerische Ostmark'') again under Schemm. (This Gau was renamed

Gau Bayreuth Gau Bayreuth (until June 1942, ''Gau Bayerische Ostmark'' (English: Bavarian Eastern March)) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany formed by the 19 January 1933 merger of Gaue in Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate and Upper Franconia, Bavari ...

in June 1942.) He also was elected a member of the '' Reichstag'' in November 1933 from electoral constituency 25,

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...

(''Niederbayern'') and held this office until 1945. In September 1934 Ruckdeschel transferred from the SA to the SS, joining as a '' Sturmhauptführer'' but receiving frequent promotions after this. With the death of Hans Schemm in a plane crash on 5 March 1935, Ruckdeschel temporarily became Acting ''Gauleiter'' for nine months until Fritz Wächtler was appointed as permanent ''Gauleiter'' on 5 December 1935. Ruckdeschel was called up for service in the SS Division ''Totenkopf'' in April 1940. He was drafted into the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

'' in July 1941, serving in a propaganda unit, but released again in October. From December 1941 onward he served in a war correspondent role in the Waffen-SS. He was transferred to the SS Division ''Leibstandarte'' Adolf Hitler in May 1942 and became a company commander in the SS Division ''Hitlerjugend'' in May 1943. He was promoted to '' Hauptsturmführer'' on 21 June 1944 and severely wounded six days later, losing his right arm. After recovery from his injuries Ruckdeschel spend time in a SS training unit before serving as an inspector of the ''

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

'' from January 1945 onward. It was at this point that he was promoted to SS-''Obersturmbannführer''. Ruckdeschel, according to the historian Ian Kershaw, was a fanatical Nazi. After ''Gauleiter'' Wächtler left Bayreuth on 13 April 1945 ahead of advancing US forces, Ruckdeschel denounced his long-term rival as a coward and deserter. On orders from

, he led an SS contingent that executed Wachtler on 19 April. He then served as the Acting Gauleiter and Reich Defense Commissioner of Gau Bayreuth in the final weeks of the war. In post-war Germany Ruckdeschel was arrested in August 1947 and sentenced to eight years in jail the following year for attempted

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

and negligence for the execution of two citizens of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, one of them the preacher

Johann Maier Johann Maier (23 June 1906 in Berghofen, today part of Aham, Lower Bavaria – 24 April 1945 in Regensburg) was from 1939 until his death a preacher at Regensburg Cathedral. On 22 April 1945, Reich Defense Commissioner Ludwig Ruckdeschel took ci ...

, who had advocated the peaceful surrender of the city. The sentence was expanded to 13 years in 1949. Released in 1952 he worked for

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

until 1968 and died in

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...

in 1986.

References

External links

History of the Gauleiters of Bavaria
''Historisches Lexikon Bayerns'' of the Bavarian State Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruckdeschel, Ludwig 1907 births 1986 deaths People from Bayreuth People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German Protestants Nazi Party politicians Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany Gauleiters SS-Sturmbannführer Waffen-SS personnel Sturmabteilung personnel Volkswagen Group people Prisoners and detainees of Germany Heads of government who were later imprisoned Volkssturm personnel Nazis convicted of war crimes